Hamas demands full war end

AFP | Gaza

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Hamas insisted yesterday on a “comprehensive” agreement to end its war with Israel, as rescuers said Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed at least 26 people amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe.

A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and imposing a total aid blockade on the Palestinian territory.

Israel demands the return of all hostages seized in Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack and Hamas’s disarmament, which the group has rejected as a “red line”.

Hamas has consistently demanded that a truce deal must lead to the war’s end, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a surge in humanitarian aid.

“Hamas and the resistance factions insist on reaching a comprehensive agreement and a full package to end the war and aggression, along with a roadmap for the day after,” political bureau member Bassem Naim said yesterday. “There are desperate attempts ahead of (US President Donald) Trump’s visit to the region... to force through a partial deal that would return some Israeli captives in exchange for a limited number of days of food and water -- without any guarantees from any party to actually end the war,” he said.

Trump is due in the Gulf next week for talks with the heads of state of powerful monarchies.

Israel this week drew widespread condemnation over its plans for an expanded Gaza offensive, which an official said would entail the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.

‘We die of hunger’

Before that phase begins, a senior Israeli security source had said that the timing of troop deployments allowed a “window of opportunity” for a possible hostage deal coinciding with Trump’s Middle East trip.

“We want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible,” Trump said at the White House, without elaborating.

In Gaza, rescuers said strikes killed 26 people, 15 in a strike on a school.

“Our teams retrieved 15 martyrs and 10 injured individuals after Israeli occupation aircraft targeted the Al-Karama school, which shelters displaced persons... in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City,” spokesman Mahmud Basal said.

He had earlier reported a toll of 11 killed in strikes on the territory.